1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a transfer unit and an image forming apparatus. More particularly, it relates to a technology for cleaning both a transfer belt, to which a toner image is transferred from an image bearing member or which conveys a recording sheet to the image bearing member, and a bending roller which bends the transfer belt.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, there has been known an image forming apparatus capable of performing color printing, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-98843. This image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearing members (photoconductive drums) bearing toner images of different colors, an intermediate transferring belt which rotates around a plurality of rollers so that the toner images of the image bearing members are sequentially transferred in superimposition, and a bending roller which comes in contact with a front surface side of the intermediate transferring belt to bend the intermediate transferring belt inwardly. The color image formed on the front surface of the intermediate transferring belt is transferred as a color image from the intermediate transferring belt to a recording sheet, and the recording sheet to which the color image is transferred is applied with a fixing processing and discharged to outside. The intermediate transferring belt is bent inwardly with the bending roller to make a space taken up by the intermediate transferring belt be small so that a cleaning device for cleaning the intermediate transferring belt can be arranged in the space secured by bending the intermediate transferring belt.
In the image forming apparatus disclosed in the publication, the bending roller serves as a cleaning roller for cleaning remaining toners electrically from the front surface of the intermediate transferring belt. Further, for the purpose of enhancing an efficiency of the bending roller in removing remaining toner from the intermediate transferring belt, there is provided a fur brush for scraping off a foreign object such as remaining toner from the front surface of the intermediate transferring belt on an upstream side from the bending roller in a running direction of the intermediate transferring belt.